How social is giving some NBA teams more play

No, these teams and their fans aren't ignoring social media, but the report from Unmetric indicates fans of teams less well known than the LA Lakers, for example, are a bit more boisterous throughout the social space. That, of course, is giving those lesser known teams a bit more buzz.

"The NBA playoffs are a prime example of the American competitive spirit, not just for the teams and players, but also for the fans. The Unmetric NBA Playoffs report provides a first look at social media benchmarks and reveals how in the face of competition, brands adapt varying techniques to reach out to their fans and followers," said Lux Narayan, Unmetric CEO. "There's always a Kobe vs. LeBron story, or the fans who claim they root for the underdog. This report looks deep inside the social media efforts of all these participants to truly understand the interaction between champions and fans."

According to the report the top socially-active teams include the Lakers, the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls. But the fastest growing teams include the LA Clippers - yes, the other Los Angeles team - the Oklahoma City Thunder and fan-favorite New York Knicks. However, while fans may be trying to engage - like, mention and 'chat' - with their teams through Facebook and Twitter, some teams are non-responsive.

The Boston Celtics, for example, were found to reply to 0% of tweets and mentions by fans while fans of the Denver Nuggets are replied to/engaged with within 5 seconds on average. Other interesting findings include:

• It takes more than 3 minutes for the Indiana Pacers to respond to social media comments/chatter
• The San Antonio Spurs reply to fans within 10 seconds
• The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers have the most fan interaction scores within Umetric
• The Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic have the lowest fan interaction scores within Unmetric

The OKC Thunder and Miami Heat continue their battle to become NBA Champions this weekend; likely that winner will get a big buzz through social media. Hopefully the teams will respond to the fans calling their name.

Tags: NBA, social buzz, social marketing, social media metrics, social media trends, Unmetric